===== Part 1 =====

Another early morning to start, we ate our complementary breakfast at 6:30am MDT and had our stuff packed and out the door shortly thereafter. I figured we’d be smart and catch the 23-minute presentation video we missed the day before, but the first showing was at 8:30am, a little later than I thought, however still worth the wait. Afterwards we huddled up in the minivan and began our ascent into Rocky Mountain National Park shortly after 9:00am.

As expected, the park did not disappoint. Almost immediately upon starting the primary Trail Ridge Road (Hwy 34), many magnificent viewpoints and lookouts grabbed our attention, especially the 14,000-foot Longs Peak. It was also a nice highlight that some of the aspen tree leaves were already changing at specific altitudes, to give it that extra “color” in our photos (ha). Oh, but let’s keep the record going… workers were paving the roads with fresh oil and of course more construction delays with 1-lane roads, flagmen and the like. So lovely!

The real fun began when we reached the tree line at 11,400 feet above sea level. The stunted trees gave way to the expansions of the alpine tundra. It looked like another planet! But even in this extreme altitude, more construction woes were backing up lines of cars, exposing the sheer number of visitors still coming up here this time of year. Eventually we hit the high pass of 12,183 feet, the highest in elevation any of us has ever been.

We were going to try and drive the entire road to the west side of the park, but I could already see that wasn’t going to fly. By the time we reached the Alpine Visitor Center it was past 11:00am and there was plenty more to do. Besides which, we could already feel the effects of the high altitude, so we expedited our time at the top and began descending the same way we came up, stopping along a few missed points from the ascent.

On the way out we stayed on Hwy 34 and passed by the Elk Viewing meadows, but being the middle of the day, we didn’t see any animals throughout our entire visit. We exited the park boundaries, stopped in at the Fall River Visitor Center, and probably took a little longer than planned gawking at the 2-story gift shop next door. Not only that, but 20 minutes after leaving there, I realized I may have dropped my cell phone in the parking lot and in a panic turned back to the Visitor Center, costing us another 40 minutes of travel time. (Dad eventually found the phone fallen into a crevice between the seats, so although a lucky break, the turn-around was for nought. I should learn to not have the phone on silent during the day.) The drive descending from the Rocky Mountains on Hwy 34 was an eye-catcher, as we followed one of the rivers and the towering walls of rock down to the adjacent valley. That was a nice little finale, and the last of our mountain adventures for a while.

===== Part 2 =====

We followed Hwy 34 all the way to I-25 North, and made a bee-line for the next state on our list. We crossed into Wyoming around 3:30pm, and a few minutes later pulled in front of the capitol building in Cheyenne, WY. Just another state capitol to mark off my list… but wait! This particular one turned out to be special, and the most memorable capitol visit experienced to this day.

Mom and I of course took pics of the front with the gold dome as always (Dad was wiped out from the day and opted to stay in the van). I decided to go in (dragging Mom along) to quickly see what there was to see. The building was the usual layout, multiple stories with the assemblies on either end and exhibits dotted throughout the floors. Mom decides to go take a picture of a life-size buffalo in the corner, and while doing so, the Chief Investment Officer comes up from the nearby stairs, greets us, and offers to take a picture of us in front of the bison. He was very friendly and had a very forward personality. We were telling him of our adventures and that I’m on a quest to see all 50 capitols. As friendly as all get out, he asks if I would like to go up into the dome and sign my name. I thought he was joking, but soon Mom and I found ourselves being led up the elevator and up the “forbidden” stairs leading to another series of railings to the dome. Mom just went up the first flight of stairs into the base, but I was able to go all the way up to the top where I could look out the portholes, take pictures and sign/date my name (along with the hundreds of others that got the privilege to do so). That was a super-cool opportunity and I forever thanked the CIO for that. We took pictures of both assemblies from the balcony before our final departure.

Now it was REALLY late, so Fort Laramie NHP was no longer an option at this point (which was a last minute tentative addition anyway so it’s not like I had to fill any more expectations for the day). We fueled up the van in Wheatland, WY around 6:00pm and watched a sinking sunset behind the distant Rockies as we hit Hwy 18/20 east, concluding the drive with the final 40 miles to the small town of Lusk, WY. It was dark by the time we arrived at the hotel (and for the 2nd night, the “No Vacancy” sign was displayed. Good thing for reservations!) Being so late, we took the easy route and grabbed a Subway for dinner.

OK, tomorrow has only one thing on the agenda, so hopefully it shouldn’t be this crazy, and hopefully I won’t go crazy trying to keep all my stuff from getting lost. Sometimes I worry too much about organization.